Two arrested for Roanoke taxi armed robbery

Roanoke Police say two juveniles are charged with holding up a taxi driver early today. Police say the two got in the taxi downtown, and when the driver got near 16th Street and Campbell Avenue Southwest, one put what felt like a gun to the cabbie’s neck and the other displayed what looked like a handgun. Officers soon found two people nearby that matched the description. They’re now in juvenile custody.

From Roanoke City Police: On February 12, 2018 at 12:36 a.m. Roanoke Police responded to 15th Street and Campbell Avenue for the report of a robbery. A cab driver advised that they had picked up two males from a business downtown in the 100 block of Church Avenue S.W. The two asked to go to a location in the S.W. Roanoke. As the driver approached 16th Street and Campbell Avenue S.W. the driver felt a metal object pressed to their neck, which they felt was a gun. The male demanded money from the driver. The driver then observed that the second male in the back seat with what appeared to be a handgun. The driver gave an amount of cash to the pair in the back seat and they fled on foot from the cab. Responding officers located two males on 13th Street next to Salem Avenue that matched the description of the suspects. A search of the immediate area located two BB pistols in the alley adjacent to where the pair was stopped. The BB pistols were similar in appearance to real handguns. An identification of the suspects was made by the driver and the pair was arrested. Cash was located on the pair. Both males, who are juveniles, were charged with Robbery and taken to Roanoke Valley Detention Center.